Adjustable support for roller-curtains.



No. 717,693. PATENTED JAN.6,'1903. W. J. LIGHTNER & J. .T.- HOLLEARN. ADJUSTABLE SUPPORT FOR ROLLER CURTAINS.

APPLIUATION FILED MAY 17, 1902 no MODEL.

' wifz 'taas s s jrm: umm

1s mans co morouma. wasmrm'ruu. D4 0 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ILLIAM J. LIGHTNER, OF CINClNNATI, OHIO, AND JAMES J. HOLLEARN, OF NEWPORT, KENTUCKY.

ADJUST-ABLE SUPPORT FOR ROLLER-CURTAINS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 717,693, dated January 6, 1903. Application filed May 17, 1902. Serial No. 10'7,708.' (No model.)

To all whowt it may concern..-

Beitknown that W6,WILLI AM J. LIGHTNER, a resident of the city of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, and JAMES J. HOLLEARN, a resident of Newport,

in the county of Campbell and State of 1(811",

tucky, citizens of the United States, have invented a certain new and useful Adjustable Support for Roller-Curtains; and we do doclare the following to be a clear, full, and ex.- act description thereof, attention being called to the accompanying drawings, with the reference-numerals marked thereon, which form also a part of this specification.

This invention relates to improvements in supports for window curtains, shades, and blinds of the kind where a roller is used by which they are supported and upon which they are wound. The ends of these rollers have journals which are fitted into and received by bearings or brackets which constitute the supports above referred to. A representative type of such a shade or blind is the well-known spring-roller shade now in universal use.

The object of our invention is to provide supports for roller-blinds which may be adj usted with reference to each other-that is, to or. from each other't0 suit within certain limits variations of the length of the rollers to be supported, such adjustment to be performed without requiring removal and reattachment of one or the two supports,asis now' found a full description of the invention, to-' gether with its mannerof use, parts, and construction, which latter is also illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows an inside view of a window with a roller-shade inposition and supported by our adjustable brackets. Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of one of the supports. Fig. 3 is a vertical crosssection of the same with roller-curtain in end view. Fig. 4 is a top View of it with parts broken away, showing also the end of the rollershade in position. Fig. 5 isa front view of the device somewhat modified. Figs. 6, 7, and 8 in views similar to Fig. 4 show further modifications of the construction of the bracket and of the means for holding it in the position to which it has been adjusted on its base.

Under present conditions, with permanently secured roller-supports attached in fixed positions to suit a certain roller of a certain length fitted to the width of a certain window, the rollers cannot be used on supports attached to suit a window and curtain therefor. somewhat wider or narrower. To accommodate oneto the other, the supports would have to be detached and reconnected or the length of the roller would either have to be reduced, if such could be done, requiring also cutting off of a piece of the curtain to reduce its width, or, if too short, a new outfit would be required. This is quite troublesome and annoying, particularly the changing in positionof a support, which if often done soon defaces'the window-casings in cases where frequent changes of occupants take place, like in apartment-houses, &c., where such occupants usually provide their owncurtains. Our invention aims'to overcome all these objections, so that, extreme variations excepted, any curtain or shade may be readily hung up on the supports found in the place, provided the latter are constructed in conformity with our invention.

In the drawings, 10 indicates the shade, blind, or curtain, of any suitable material, usually some kind of a fabric, the same being at one of its edges attached to a roller 1]., which may be simplya plain roller, serving to merelysupport the curtain, or it may be a spring-roller, in which case it also embodies the means for raising or lowering said ourtain. At its ends this roller has journals 12, which are supported on bearings substantially in shape of aprojecting bracket 13, provided with a foot 14, arranged at rightangles to the bracket and laterallyenlarged, so as to project beyond the same. This bracket is supported so as to be capable of a' sliding adjustment on a base 15, attached in a horizontal position to the window-casing 16 by means of screws 17, passing through lugs 18. On its upper and lower edges this base is provided with guideways 19, parallel to each other and into which the enlarged foot 14. reaches above and below, while the shank of the bracket projects outwardly through a slot 21 between these guideways. It will now be seen that the brackets may readily be slid back and forth in ways 19 to suit variations in the length of the roller, while at all times they are fully supported by foot 14 occupying said ways. While there is no stress tending to move said brackets laterally on their base, we prefer to secure them in their adjusted positions with such sufiiciency as to hold them against possible displacement, which might be caused by the manipulation of the curtain. ,In our preferred form we do this by the frictional contact due to spring-pressure,a spring 23 being attached or forming part of the foot and the free end of which has a tendency to move away from such foot, whereby this latter is caused to bear outwardly against the inside of the front walls forming part of the guideways. The free end of the spring bears against the rear Wall of the guideways, which combined frictional contact is sufficient to hold the brackets for all purposes. If adjustment becomes necessary, the bracket is simply pressed inwardly, so as to break contact of the foot with the front walls of the guideways. This reduced contact permits now the bracket to he slid freely in either direction until arrived in proper position, when it is released, after which it will at once be held again by the action of the spring.

In Fig. 5 another way of holding the bracket in its adjusted position is shown, it being done by notches 24: in the upper edge of the front wall of the lower guideway and into one of which the shank of the bracket may drop. The foot is fitted sufficiently loosethat is, it does not fill out the entire guideway vertically-thus permitting the movement necessary to lift the bracket out of these notches for adjustment and to be moved into another one.

The parts are by preference all made of sheet metal, so that the entire base may be made in one piece, the walls of the guideways being formed by bending the edges of a blank up and over the front, leaving a space for foot 14 and for slot 21. At the inner end,with reference to the window, this blankis turned around the window-casing, forming a flange 25, which contains an additional bearing 26, where curtains are to be supported between the window-casing instead of on the outside, as shown in Fig. 1, or where an additional curtain, which may be of different color, is to be used.

The bracket-bearings may be open at their upper ends, as shown in Fig. 2, to admit insertion of the roller-journals, or one on one side of the window may be round, as shown in Fig. 3. In case of spring-rollers one, at least, must be otherwise than round to hold the spring of the roller against rotation. The forms shown in Fig. 2 will serve such purpose.

In order to obtain the necessary projection for the inside bearings 26, the metal of flange 25 is bulged out for such purpose, the bulged part then having the opening to receive the roller-journals.

Springs 23 may be attached to foot 14, as shown in Fig. 4, or they may form an integral .part thereof, as shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8.

In Fig. 8 there is only one member, which combines the functions of foot 14 and spring 23. In Figs. 7 and 8 these brackets are doubled by bending sheet metal, as shown, the foot of each being formed at the same time in each case.

Having described our invention, we claim as new- Means for supporting the journals of rollercurtains consisting of a base to be permanently attached to a window-casing, an an gular flange 25 at one end of the same, having projecting parts which contain a bearing for a roller-journal, guideways on this base, and a bracket containing also a bearing for a roller-journal at its outer end and a foot at its inner one fitted into the guideways mentioned with a sliding adjustment.

In testimony whereof we hereunto set our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. LIGHTNER. JAMES J. HOLLEARN. Witnesses:

O. SPENGEL, ARTHUR KLINE. 

